I just got this a few hours ago so I cant really judge it. But for $50 at GameStop this seems like a fine purchase.i have my own place but I stay with my Lady 2-3 Nights a week. I got tired of hauling consoles and equipment back and forth. She likes gamingto a degree but I know She got tired of me hooking up all these wires to her entertainment center. So I just got the newest flashback system and will keep it here. The only major missing game to me is Berzerk. Yes they finally brought back wired controllers and their cords are fairly long. No cartridge slot. But I have paddle controllers on my 2600 at home so I wrill bring them over permanently so I can play games like Circus Atari and Night Driver. Trurly a great Lil retro console with built in games for the price.if younger gamers want to experience 2600 games in all their glory at a cheap price I highly recommend this. But be sure to buy some 2600 paddle controllers off eBay or amazon to enjoy them all.

Judging by the wired joysticks, it sounds like you went with the standard definition model using the old AtGames hardware.

They also offered slightly more expensive Gold models last year that run on their next-gen hardware base, support high-definition video output via HDMI, and utilize Bluetooth-like wireless controllers instead of their old and not well liked IR based line of sight controllers (They kept the controller ports though for paddles and wired joysticks).

Their rep at AtariAge is hinting at even greater things for 2018. It sounds like SD rom loading that allows the user to play their own rom images to expand past the built-in lineup and the implementation of the popular Atari 2600 emulator Stella that is well liked for its accuracy and compatibility, are in the cards for this year's Atari Flashback 9.

And going off on a bit of a tangent, I haven't seen Atari Flashback Classics Volume 3 mentioned around here. It's the sequel to the two volume compilation that appeared in 2016 for the XB1/PS4 and includes 50 games like each of those did. 25 titles are already known about so far thanks to the trophy/achievement list and the ESRB entry for the collection, with the remainder left to be announced.

It marks the first compilation to give a significant look at Atari's black & white raster arcade heritage, albeit just the later titles after Atari shifted to microprocessors and left discrete hardware behind. It's also the first commercial compilation to feature Atari 5200 content.

It should be hitting the PS4/XB1 at retail and digitally in June (Based off a retailer listing that I saw).

It's identical to an Atari Flashback 7, minus some minor game lineup changes which includes the addition of a handful of Activision titles, and the return of wired joysticks (Although the IR sensors are still present if one wants to use one of those wireless controllers from an older edition).

Then there's the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Edition. It has a different game lineup (And 120 total games to 105 for the standard model) along with the addition of high-definition HDMI output and Bluetooth wireless controllers. I got this as a Christmas gift and have enjoyed it.

This too got a deluxe paddle edition.

Then there was the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition, which most would view as the most desirable of the bunch. This removed 9 games from the standard Gold Edition pictured earlier, but added 19 additional Activision/Imagic games to the lineup for 130 games in total. No deluxe paddle edition to my knowledge exists for this variation.

Here's a PDF chart from AtariAge comparing the game lineup for the Atari Flashback 8 Gold and the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition.

You are correct Atari. Flashback 8 standard edition. Now I just need to buy a driving controller off eBay so I can play the excellent Indy 500. Haven’t played that since I was about 12 and I luved that game!